"There are three things you need to look out for when spotting a high ticket client."
Gege, an influential and well-known realtor, was speaking to his class, students that had each paid a hefty sum of money to learn from him.
He lifted his finger.
"First, their car. This is the single most important indicator of how much value your client has. The type of car they drive indicates their class, as well as the depth of their pockets."
The students nodded attentively, a few overzealous ones taking notes.
"Second is their clothing. Branded, luxury and designer… the higher the better. But don't let it fool you, clothing is one of the weakest measures of wealth."
"And finally…"
He paused for dramatic effect.
"You can only learn this one in the master class."
A wave of groans spread through the crowd, but Gege ignored them.
He didn't need to bother with convincing them, all he had to do was wait.
After receiving a call from one of his most revered clients this morning, he was sure the person she was sending was going to spend a lot today.
'They should soon be here…'
He glanced at the window and then smirked at some pedestrians strolling towards the building.
It was a boy walking with two beauties. The first girl was cute and had a friendly but shy demeanour, while the second was blonde, probably the feisty type.
Gege's eyes moved to the boy in the center. 'How does he have these two girls with him?'
'Is he secretly rich?'
He stared at the boy, his eyes moving over his body, taking note of every single article of clothing he was wearing.
"Garbage, obviously fake designers."
The young man was clearly tricking the girls into thinking he was some sort of rich heir, when in truth he was dirt poor.
'It looks like I'm going to have to teach this one a lesson.'
•••
"Is Akiko doing fine?" Kyle asked, briefly glancing at Sakura.
Today was the day they were purchasing the secret base and Kyle wanted Akiko to come along since part of it was going to be a cafe, but today, she said she had things to attend to.
"I called her and she sounded fine, she said she had a little family matter to take care of."
Kyle nodded. "Okay…"
Himiko, who was walking ahead, glanced at him from over her shoulder. "Are you really buying a building?"
Kyle nodded. "I need a new place for the cafe."
Then he gave her a look which she caught instantly.
"Oh…"
Kyle could regenerate, which made him a walking blood bank. To ensure Himiko didn't go on any hunger rampages, he had given her a good amount of his blood to store.
Because of this, he had not seen her in a couple of days, and now he was seeing her, he couldn't help but notice the changes.
Somehow, she looked a little taller, her face was free of blemishes, as though she had undergone a beauty treatment, and her skin was bright and lively.
'Did I also change when I became a vampire?'
He barely had any time to see himself before the transformation, so there was no way to tell.
But he recalled thinking how handsome he looked when he saw himself later.
"Is this the place?" Sakura asked, pulling him out of his thoughts as she pointed to a signboard.
~ Gegevestment.
'That's a weird name…'
Kyle pulled out a card from his pocket, it was the business card of the realtor Tsumi recommended.
"Yeah, it looks like it. Let's get in."
Immediately Kyle entered the office, there was a man right in front of him with a condescending look on his face.
"How can I help you?" the man asked bluntly.
Kyle cocked a brow. 'No greeting? Just straight to business?'
"I want to get a building."
He nodded. "Of course you do… what are you looking for?"
Kyle noticed the tone but couldn't be bothered to care.
"Something large, a storey building and with an expansive underground basement."
The man wrote down everything in his notebook then began tapping it with his own.
"Hmm, are you sure this is what you want? These types are very expensive, especially for someone of your… capabilities."
When he said the last part, his eyes lingered on Himiko and Sakura.
Kyle blinked. "What do you mean?"
The man snapped the book shut and began walking to his desk to grab his keys.
He had a cheeky smile on his face as he spoke. "I am Gege Akutsami. As in Gegevestment."
'What is he even saying? He just ignored my question.'
Gege walked back after taking his keys. "I'm guessing you don't have a car right?"
"It's with the mechanic, they are servicing—"
"Hahaha… of course, of course…" "Shall we go?" he asked, spinning his keys in his hand.
"I guess…"
Gege took two of his students along, a boy with a proud smirk on his face and a girl who seemed indifferent about what was going on.
When they got to the parking lot, his students all gravitated towards the cleanest car there, a sparkling black sedan.
But Gege walked in the opposite direction. "Where are you guys going? The car is over here."
Himiko stared at the car and then at Gege. "Umm… what is that?" she muttered, her voice low.
While Sakura whispered to Himiko. "A Toyota Sienna was what he was bragging about?"
Himiko chuckled lightly.
While Kyle just sighed deeply.
"This is going to be a very long day."
•••
True to Tsumi's words, Gege had a lot of great buildings under his management.
The first one was large and had a lot of room. The ceiling was high and the design was intricate.
It was perfect for a cafe, even the location was great.
Himiko and Sakura together went around, looking out for problems while Kyle stood at the window staring down to the streets.
"For business, it is great…"
But it was terrible for his base. The visibility of the surrounding streets was just too poor, if they were to be attacked, it would be too late before they realised.
And that was not all…
Kyle activated geolocation, mapping out the entire structure of the building.
'It's old…'
Although the building looked new, it was because it had been renovated countless times.
While searching, Kyle noticed something else using geolocation.
'What the hell is that?'
He began walking towards the office kitchen and then stopped.
He froze. 'Is that a—'
"So how is the building?" Gege asked, a smug smile on his face as he walked towards Kyle.
Kyle spoke in a flat tone. "It's nice, but there is one problem…"
Himiko and Sakura walked up to them after overhearing their conversation. "Really? What is the problem?"
Kyle glanced at the students and considered if he should say it. What he saw was sure to reduce whatever respect they had for him.
It was not that he cared, but he didn't want the man to get angry and walk away.
He needed to get his base today.
"What is the problem? Is the price too much for you?" Gege sneered, glancing at his students who shared a laugh with him.
'Tch!' Gege hissed inwardly.
'The kid can't afford it so he is going to make up a lie, classic scammer strategy.'
'I'll make sure to expose your lies today, you should be in college, not scamming girls into thinking you are rich!'
Kyle sighed. "If you say so…"
He held both Himiko and Sakura, who looked slightly confused, as he pulled them behind him.
Gege sighed. "What are you—?!"
Then Kyle opened the cupboard.
Skreeee!
A black, fat, round rat, about the size of a cat, jumped right out of the cupboard and landed right on his face.
"…"
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!!"
..
..
A/N
All Powestone bonus chapters from last week will be uploaded soon!